A Piece to the Puzzle
by Quiet Harmony-chan
Summary: Elsa's mind is like a never ending puzzle with so many inconsistencies it baffles her therapists. When she slowly begins liking the hallucination more than reality will she be able to make the choice between reality or fantasy? NightmarexOc
1. Piece 1

**...**

**Third Person POV**

**...**

Perhaps. Of course not! Maybe. Never. All of these contradicting thoughts swirled around her head creating quite the anomaly that would confuse even the most avid mind reader. These contradicting thoughts held Elsa captive, not only in her ever-changing head, but also in her attitude and dress.

Elsa herself wasn't that tall of a woman, just average height, yet wore high heel's giving off a different impression. She wore conservative clothes yet they couldn't hide her buxom body shape. Her hair was always in a short, brunette bob yet she had a nose ring nad four holes in each ear. She was mostly strict and did not take well to 'fun' and 'non-sense' yet had a tattoo of a red scope mark on her right shoulder.

All of these clashing things made for an awkward human being that was generally disliked, but Elsa didn't see this. Actually she didn't see much of anything outside a delusion that swept across her gaze and took hold of her. Reality and fantasy all seemed to curl in upon itself and keep Elsa in its sugar-coated trap and be a slave to the many pocket's of 'blank' in her memory.

Some people said it was the drugs. Those long nights where she sat at her kitchen counter with her a bottle of Jack Daniels and some pot, the smoky rivers corroding her mind. Others claimed it was due to her mother still taking pot while pregnant, a sin that resulted in an insane child.

The actual cause, though, would never be known. Elsa herself didn't care to know and had found a way to see past the fairy like delusions and noises that crept through her mind. With a straight face and unstoppable work ethic she plowed her way though life, generally ignoring everything that wasn't her medication.

Life continued on this way until a warm day in December. Now in Hawaii, where Elsa lived, it was normal for it to be hot during the winter. And as such she normally didn't stay in her tiny apartment, instead went out onto the beach that was normally swamped with tourists on holiday. And like any other day she went out to the ocean with her head phones on and listening to music.

Music was what probably kept her mind from falling into utter oblivion. With the exciting songs from movies, heavy metal that made the head burn, or the soothing music of classical it was all used to ignore the world around her. However a voice managed to get past her ingenious defense. The voice was male and something about it immediately ticked Elsa off, perhaps it was the words, or maybe the sheer fact that she couldn't ignore it, whatever the reason she immediately decided that she hated it.

_Did you know every game has its Rules?_

_Rules that are meant to be broken._

_There are rules for those who don't play as well I look forward to your participation, you can't refuse._

The moment the words were said a heaviness filled Elsa's bones and she had to force her eyes to stay open as she walked. Each step placed more warmth on her skull and made her want to sink into the warm sand and take a nap. Just when she was about to give into the idea she saw a white rabbit. It hopped in front of her and peered up with red eyes covered in spectacles.

A delusion. This one stranger than some of the ones she had in her life. Shaking her head she walked past the creature, eager to go back home and take her medication. However the little bundle of fur followed her down the sandy path. Twisting and winding the path soon stopped and before she knew it Elsa was falling.

Fear, adrenaline, and anger coursed through her veins as she went down the hole. Cool air slapped against her face as if trying to wake her up from the 'dream' that she was in.

_Dream?_

_Reality?_

_Is there a difference?_

Elsa opened her mouth, an answer forming as she heard the question. "This is a dream...A delusion..." She shut her eyes and balled her fists. "I control it and I refused to get ensnared in it!"

The minute the words came out of her mouth the world around her seemed to stop, the falling sensation died away as did the wind. When she opened her eyes she was standing outside on the beach's path that led back home. Digging a hand into her pocket she clicked a number that was on speed dial.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dr. Mallard, may I have an appointment with you this morning?"

The sound of something plastic shifting could be heard. "I have some time at ten o'clock..." He took a deep breath. "Is something wrong?"

"I had another hallucination, this time of a white rabbit."

Silence could be heard on the other end, it was the kind that expected something better than what it had received. "Alright, come here immediately then."

**...**

**A/N: So my new story that's rather psychological. I'm writing this one as NightmarexOC because I thought with all the brain tricks it would be interesting to see everyone's favorite mind reader do. It was originally supossed to be just a story without a pairing, but the pairing fit so...I should probably work on my other NightmarexOc story while I'm at it...**


	2. Piece 2

**A/N: Something tells me the chapters will get longer as the story goes by...**

**Angel Protectress: I hope so! This story is actually way more 'light hearted' than the other story so you'll have less reasons to hate me or try to kill me with your machete.**

**Senna Bluefire: I'm glad you think so.**

**Guest: I've got ideas alright, hence a huge chapter! **

**...**

**Third Person POV**

**...**

Dr. Mallard was one of the best therapists to speak to in the tiny town. He was well known for working with patients who had schizophrenia and a variety of other mental conditions and was always booked, but he always re-arranged his schedule for Elsa.

Elsa herself did not like the treatment, but she did like the how kind the man was to her. As she went into the colorful waiting room she was greeted by Lana, tough old woman who was very kind and acted more like a mother than a secretary. Lana was at her desk tapping away at the old computer that had yet to be upgraded sine Elsa started coming ten years ago.

"Hello Elsa." The woman said. "How's your class been comin' along?"

"Good, thank you."

Lana looked up from the screen, her bright green eyes showing amusement. "Now don't be all formal with me, I've known you since you were a bitty thing!"

This fact was true, and Elsa wanted to apologize, but then she remembered that she was an employee for her therapist and that it was rude to be informal.

_Then be yourself._

Herself? And what was being herself exactly? Her brown eyes narrowed as she realized she was talking to a nonexistent voice in her head. Going over to one of the thin plastic chairs she sat down and turned up the music, glancing out the window as she did.

This day was sunny and almost everyone was outside either walking, riding bikes, or piling up too many people in one vehicle to get to another area. Slowly, however, this scenery changed making the bikes and cars disappear and leaving the people walking on foot. These people wore outfits that looked like they came from a history book, further proving it by none of the women wearing pants and wearing bonnets on their heads.

The vision soon stopped as she felt a tap on the shoulder. It felt almost disconnected, a feeling she knew all too well. "Yes?" Her words were dull and monotonous.

"Dr. Mallard will have you now."

Getting up Elsa shook her head, the vision slowly fading. When all of her bearings were together she went to the small door in the back of the airy room. Here was where Dr. Mallard worked, unlike the waiting area this place was painted perfectly white, setting Elsa at unease even though she admired how clean it was. A large desk was on one side of the room with a few picture frames and papers crowding it, an over stuffed couch that had duck tape covering a large hole sat across from it.

Sitting down on the couch she waited for the middle aged man to look up at her and talk. Ever since she started therapy the man never looked up and spoke, he would wait for you to do so. This habit irked Elsa and there was definitely no contradiction to go with it! She found the habit rude and uncomfortable, especially since she didn't want to be here in the first place!

After ten minutes ticked by Elsa took off her head phones and smoothed out her brown skirt before finally speaking. "Hello Dr. Mallard."

The man looked up and Elsa felt her heart skip a beat as cloud blue eyes stared into her own bread brown. "Hello Elsa, I see you're slow to speak today even though you called me."

"...I apologize."

The man waved her off with his long fingers. "It's fine, now tell me about this hallucination."

_Don't!_

Elsa's eyebrows furrowed, why shouldn't she isn't that why she came all this way? "I...I saw a white rabbit wearing glasses and clothes, red clothes to be precise."

"Mhm."

"And then I followed him."

"Him?"

"I thought of it as male." She explained. "But when I did I fell into a hole."

The doctor picked up a clipboard and began scribbling on it. "Then what?"

Fear began bursting through her system and voices began talking in her head, all of them some variation to 'Don't tell'. Elsa shook her head, but this only caused them to be louder, one even threatened to hurt her if she spoke of it. Biting her lip the voices suddenly stopped and the sudden silence almost scared her. "I..."She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can not remember what I was going to say."

The man nodded his head in understanding. "That's fine Elsa, I've heard of what you've seen anyway."

"You have?"

The man nodded and pulled out a thick book with an extravagant cover. On it was a young girl sitting on a mushroom with different animals around her, above her head in scrolling script were the words: _Alice in Wonderland_.

"I got it from a story?"

Dr. Mallard opened the book to the first illustration. "Yes, a story written by a man who abused opium, a common drug during the Victorian era. Admittedly though it is an intriguing story."

"Rabbits, humans, makes sense?"

The doctor sorted through her word jumble. "If you're asking if the story makes sense...Then no, every part of it is non-sense."

Elsa nodded before beginning to stare into a space, a habit that signaled that her attention span was at its limit. The doctor sighed and wrote out something else on his clip board, letting her stay in her fantasy world for a moment before ripping off the prescription paper and setting it on the book. "Elsa."

"...Yes..."

"I've written out your prescription, you may take the book with you of course." He gave a wry smile. "Perhaps it will be a piece to the puzzle of your mind."

"..." She picked up the book robotically and left the office, returning to the bright and warm sunshine that leaked onto the earth. Dipping her hand into her pocket with her free hand, Elsa checked the time and decided to go check on her parents.

The trek to her parents house was slow and generally annoying. When riding a bike on the not so busy road her mind would wonder and she would have to force it back into place lest she went off the road and died, that and she didn't want to go.

She sighed as she turned into a small store that was a block away from her parents. Going in she picked up a few things and cranked up the music in her ears. It wasn't that she didn't like her parents, she loved them like a good daughter should, but each time she went she saw how...Different she was.

_Is is bad to be different? Of course not you're just being stupid, if I were you I wouldn't be going to visit!_

Rolling her eyes she set a can of soup back on the shelf, trying to block out the voice the best she could. Turning around to go to the next aisle she came face to face with a tall young man with smooth black hair and lazy green eyes that were scrunched due to the huge smile on his tanned face. "Rick?"

"Hey, what're you doing here?" He asked. "Thought you went to work on Thursdays."

"I..I do...Head."

His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to make out what she was saying. "You seeing things?"

She nodded and gestured to the food in the cart. "Gotta go."

Rick nodded and grabbed the cart from her making Elsa mutter something unintelligible. "I'll ring it up for ya."

Elsa followed behind him, but when he was about to ring it up a woman took the cart away and began sliding them on the scanner whilst giving Rick a glare. The man rolled his eyes and pat his friend on the back, Elsa stiffening from the touch. "See ya around, Elsa!"

She would never admit it out loud...But she liked it.

...

Elsa's parents still lived in the old house that she had grown up in. It was a single story with wild plants taking over the front, completely eating away the gravel drive way. The house itself was small, but had a large back yard that had music coming from it. Taking the bags of grocery's out of her basket, Elsa walked up the old steps and pushed open the screen door, just for her nose to be assaulted by a sweet smokey smell.

"Mom, Dad I'm here."

"In the kitchen Brownie."

Elsa's nose wrinkled at the nick name, but she went through the living room to make her way to the kitchen where her mother sat watching soap operas. Her mother, at one time, could have been considered one gorgeous woman. She had long red hair that looked good in any style, blue eyes that held a mischievous gleam, and long fingers that looked fit for playing piano.

However those pretty features faded due to the drugs that she smoked. The gorgeous hair was now limp and stringy, the blue eyes looked sunken into her pale skin, and no matter how much hardener she put on her nails always chipped. But oh could her mother smile and dance, her confidence making her one lovely woman.

Elsa set the flimsy plastic bags on the counter. "I brought food."

Her mother pursed her lips. "My Brownie could have just given me the money, I know it takes a lot of work for you to do anything."

"I wanted to." Elsa took the cans of soup out and began putting them in the old cabinets. As she opened up one a loud creaking came from it, making her shudder.

"Your father needs to grease the damn things more often." Her mother muttered. "Sounds like a bat comin' out of hell."

The daughter made no comment, filling the cabinets with the food until all fourteen cans of soup, a box of crackers, and a box of cookies were all neatly set away in alphabetical order. Finishing her task Elsa sat in one of the rickety plastic chairs, doing her best to balance her weight.

She watched her mother pick up a small silver box and take out a small stick that looked similar to a cigarette and light it as she was about to light it she glanced to her daughter. "This is my first one today, been gettin' help from the people at church and that rehab program."

"..."

The woman set it down. "Now don't look at me like that, you know I've been tryin' to get off the drugs, it's just hard, alright."

"..."

"Heh, I guess you're that last person I should complain to, you kicked the habit already." Sighing her mother put the blunt away and instead opened up a bag of chips. "Are you here for anything aside from staring at me with that blank look?"

The woman blinked before nodding. "Visit."

"And I'm glad you are." She glanced out the window. "Why don't you go say hi to your Daddy?"

Elsa nodded and went to go do as she was told, going out the back door and onto the cracked patio. The back yard was always a mess, oil cans were discarded every where, a few paint cans laid on their sides, and the grass wasn't cut. The most impressive thing out there was the red mustang with a bad paint job that a short man with messy black hair was working on.

The woman walked up to him and gently tapped his shoulder making the man curse and stand up properly, his light brown eyes showed irritation that quickly turned to joy when he saw his daughter. "Elsa, what're you doing here?"

"I got you both some groceries from the store, soup."

"Ah, thank you." he looked back to the car. "Things have been tight this month, especially with the back sliding..." he shook his head. "At any rate, you should come eat with us, I'll order some Chinese."

Elsa clicked her tongue in disapproval, but nodded anyway, following her father into the house.

**...**

When Elsa finally got back to her apartment that night it was late. The full moon was already high in the sky and her neighbors had all gone to bed. The time she spent with her parents hadn't been rowdy, but it had been enjoyable. They mostly sat around and watched some game shows on television and then the local news. It had all been fun until she felt her medication begin to were off, thus she went home in the dark, denying the requests that her father should come with her.

Going through her tiny apartment she finally got to her room. It was small and could be called a 'fixer upper' with its off white walls, tiny window and dirty ceiling, but Elsa had spruced it up a bit. A book shelf full of books sat in one corner next to the window with a flimsy chair sitting next to it, her bed sat next to a window with light blue blankets covering it. A table sat next to it and it had a clear, glass ball sitting on a pretty stand with a note book, pens, and bottles of pills. Picking up a bottle she took the small pill with a glass of water before stripping herself of her clothes ,she didn't bother to put them away, as she grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt and slipping under her blankets finally going to sleep.

However this sleep was different from the one she was used to, instead of feeling blankets or a tired feeling she felt oddly awake. Slowly opening her eyes she found herself standing in a hazy world of monotonous and mist. Biting her bottom lip she rubbed her eyes and looked around again. "What's happening?" She said to the emptiness, half expecting someone to come out and murder her with a knife.

"You're dreaming."

her eyebrows furrowed as she heard the voice speak. "No, I'm hallucinating."

"Dreams, reality fantasy...If there a difference?"

"Yes...It's based upon what you perceive as real, and this,"She gestured around her. "is not real."

She gasped as a man appeared out of the mist, causally smoking on an old fashioned pipe. "Perhaps...Perhaps not, at any rate let me introduce myself." He bowed while placing a hand over his heart. "I am Nightmare."

**...**

**A/N: Long chapter is long...At any rate, before you guys tell me I'm wrong, I know Nightmare has a clock, but even if it's from the third -person POV, it's still in Elsa's technically. She doesn't know if Nightmare has a heart, or if he even exists...Anyway! I hope you all liked this chapter!**


	3. Piece 3

**A/N: Another long chapter!**

**Angel Protectress: I'm glad you approve. Actually this story has way less 'heavy' plot like the other story does.**

**Lurking Phenoix: After this chapter we'll be edging away from Elsa's mind during the dream sequences and more into Nightmare's view of her mind.**

**Senna Bluefire: I'm glad you do!**

**Sleeping Moon: You'll see soon enough! Maybe, I don't know...**

**...**

**Third Person POV**

**...**

"I don't want to know your name."

Nightmare went back to smoking his pipe. "That's rude, didn't your mother teach you manners?"

Elsa opened her mouth to retort, but quickly stifled it. She didn't have to be so rude to this man when he just introduced himself, but he appeared in her dream, she ought to call the police! The police already thought she was insane, they weren't that far from the truth, but maybe she should give him a chance, he had been polite afterall.

"You can say whatever you want, Elsa." Nightmare said. "It doesn't matter if you're rude or polite, it's what makes up a conversation."

She blinked and stared up warily at the man. "You can read minds?"

"Hear would be a better word, but yes I can read minds."

Elsa blanched and her dark skin actually managed to lighten some what. "R-read...You can hear all of our thoughts?"

"Our?"

Her eyes widened and she placed a hand over her mouth. She shouldn't have told him now he was going to call her crazy. _No he won't you idiot, not if you act like you were just kidding!_ But how do I do that if he can read thoughts!_ You'll fail of course._ Of course I will, but isn't he just a figment of my imagination? If he is then it should-

"I'm very much real, but you can think of me as a dream if you like. " A confused frown lined his mouth. "So why is there another voice in your head, it distinctly sounded male."

"How can you r-hear thoughts?"

The frown disappeared and was replaced by a smile. "I'm an incubus, having the ability to hear thoughts and enter dreams comes with the Role."

_Role?_ An Incubus? "Oh...I've never heard of those before."

"They must not exist here..." He shrugged. "Oh well."

Elsa sighed and crossed her arms, obviously this image just wasn't going to be ignored. "Can you tell me why you're here?"

He gave a small smile. "I just wanted to talk, you seem like a rather interesting person."

A dark red covered her face and she looked away. "If you get to know me you'd know that it's a lie."

"Maybe to the people in your world," He said. "but I think your thoughts are quite the challenge."

"My wo-" The world around them shattered like glass, a monotoned, high pitch beeping filling Elsa's mind. "What's going on!"

"You're waking up, don't worry we'll talk again, soon."

**...**

Elsa blinked wearily as she stared at the dingy ceiling of her apartment. Turning onto her side she stared blankly at the still blaring alarm clock, the electric red numbers declaring it was in fact six in the morning. Slamming a palm on the off button, Elsa slowly sat up and glared at the cloths on the floor. Before eating or doing anything else she neatly folded the dirty laundry and set them into a pink clothes basket in the corner of the room. She then went to her blankets and made the bed up twice before deciding it was good enough.

She then went to the bathroom and stared at the tub with a depressed look. Elsa had a fear of taking showers. It was considered a pathetic fear and she had been made fun of it since she was a little girl, but ever since watching a horror movie with a man being stabbed in the shower...You could say Elsa's personal hygiene suffered thanks to it.

Taking a deep breath she flicked the water knobs and stripped herself of her clothes, hanging them up on a plastic hanger before getting into the scalding hot water. Within a minute she was out of the bathroom and getting dressed in her work clothes.

Staring at herself in the mirror she flicked off non-existent dust off her white blouse and smoothed out her long brown skirt before sitting on the bed and pulling on some red heels. These clothes all seemed fancy to wear to work, but Elsa's job required a very professional and sleek look. Elsa herself did not mind this, she loved wearing heels and thought her clothes were much better than the ones for her previous occupation.

Getting out the door she walked to her job only ten minutes away. The moment she made it to the establishment a smile filled her face as she stared at the brick building. It had a large sign that proudly said in fancy azure scrolling _Arachne's Art_. Upon going in she was assaulted by the heavy smell of cinnamon and apples along with cool air coming from the air conditioning unit.

This place was a small art gallery that was painted all white and had light bamboo wood floors. But even if the actual building was plain the art around her was gorgeous and tried to pop out at her. Elegant statues, curious paintings, and graceful pottery pieces were scattered about in an appealing way.

"Elsa, I'm glad you could make it to work today." A middle-aged woman said as she swept the floor. "I was worried when you called to tell me you had an emergency appointment with your hunk of a doctor."

Elsa smiled softly and extended a hand to take the broom from her employer. "Thank you Ms. Clair."

Clair rolled her garnet brown eyes. "Don't call me Miss I'm not _that_ old!"

"I'm sorry." She began sweeping the floors while Clair straightened out an abstract painting of a telescope. "Did you get a new art?"

"...Yes," She said once she corrected the word errors. "It's in the back, would you mind bringing it out?"

Elsa nodded and handed the broom back before going off to get the painting. _In the back, but then it must be something controversial.._ Normally Elsa didn't actually agree with the voice in her head, but when Ms. Clair happened to buy something like that, she only displayed it once all of the employees had seen it and decided whether or not it could be put on display.

Going into the back room there were many different sculptures and the like placed in the room that had yet to be set in an official place. Going amongst them all she finally saw a painting, the only one in the room, and stared at it.

The image was of a rose garden. In the garden were large, dark red roses that blossomed around a long table. The table was decorated with small cakes, cookies, and puddings that were all beautifully decorated. In the middle of the table was a gorgeous tea set that was a pale white with small gold dots on the lip of the cups.

The image seemed to draw the woman in, and she could have sworn she heard people talking. The chatter wasn't the causal kind because she could hear an argument coming from three different voices, all of them male. The argument centered on how one of the people wasn't a rabbit while the two younger people claimed that the person was in denial.

"Elsa!"Said woman whipped around, taking in the sight of an irritated Clair. "That painting, is it that interesting?"

She glanced back at it the painting and her wheat brown eyes widened as she saw that the painting was in fact a rose garden, and it did have a tea table, but it was small and circular. In the chair was a naked young man holding a young woman close even though she was fully clothed and was trying to get away from him. "I..."

"Is it too much?" Clair came over and touched the simple frame. "_The Rape of the Sabine Women_. That is what the artist got their idea from, but wanted it to be in a romantic setting."

"Rape isn't romantic."

Clair shook her head. "It wasn't rape. Instead it was said that the new country of Rome needed women, and they took them from their Sabine neighbors who refused to let their daughters marry. As such the women were kidnapped into Rome and given the choice to stay with their new husbands or return to their fathers."

"What did they pick?" _It's called rape what do you think?_

"They chose to stay, but there was a war and lots of other boring things." Clair gave a soft smile. "It's sweet how they didn't want to be stolen away, and yet they found love anyway."

No it wasn't sweet, it was stockholm syndrome. _No it was definitely romantic in the most messed up of ways._

Elsa rolled her eyes and followed Clair back to the main floor of the gallery, she wasn't going to argue with that damn voice in her head.

**...**

When the gallery closed that evening Elsa headed back home more than ready to go to bed and sleep. That day plenty of tourists had come over to the gallery to see the art there, and a few sales had been made.

As she went up the stairs of the apartment she stopped when she heard her named called. Turning around she saw her small, wrinkly, and very aggressive neighbor. "Good evening Mrs. Hawthorn."

"Don't you hear that?!"

_No we don't you stupid hag. _"..."

Actually, now that she was paying attention, she could hear the booming of heavy metal. It could be heard all the way outside even though it probably came form a home a few floors up. "One of the neighbors seem to be having a party..."

"Again!" Mrs. Hawthorn spat. "They are always throwing parties, you do me a favor and tell them to either turn it down or shove it!"

_No._ "Yes, ma'am."

_What, why? _They did have their music up much too loud..._But she's the only one who complains!_ Maybe she could make a compromise with them or something..._You're stupid._ As she came up to the third floor room 12A, she stopped and turned back to go to her room. She wasn't ready to deal with a bunch of tiresome neighbors, she had her homework to do for her cognitive therapy anyway.

Going into her house she locked the door behind her and investigated each room to be sure nothing was out of place. She then went to the kitchen and opened up a can of peaches to eat for dinner. Eating the fruit her thoughts trailed all over the place until she threw the can away and washed the fork out and went to bed, this time folding her dirty laundry into the hamper.

Taking a yellow notebook from under her pillow she opened it up and flipped a couple of pages to where some notes were jotted down in bright red ink. Glancing over the words she sighed and tapped the pen thinking about what ten things she treasured in life...She liked her job. A_nd that would be it ,wouldn't it?_ No there was more she just had to think about it...Slamming the notebook shut she put it away and decided to work on it in the morning, after all it was due next week.

The moment she crawled properly into bed her eyes began to get heavy and she fell asleep.

**...**

When her eyes slid shut she was once again in the world of mist and shadow. Looking around she sighed and tried to wake herself up by pinching her arms, but with no such luck. "Doing that will only hurt you."

She squealed and turned around to see the man, wait he had a name didn't he? _Nightmare, creepy as heck name..._"W-what are you doing back!"

"You want me to leave?"

"Yes!"

Without another word he faded away and left Elsa all alone. The first few moments weren't that bad, instead of standing around like an idiot she continued walking through the mist. Eventually her heart rate began to rise and she could hear quiet laughter and taunts going on in her head.

She screamed when a black figure swooped in and tried to grab her, but Elsa pushed the thing down and began running. Her legs moved through the mist, treading against the black ground getting further from the terrifying creature. Yet at the last minute it yanked her by the arm and she shut her eyes as if to keep the thing away.

"Nightmare please come back!" She screamed. "Nightmare!"

Within seconds a cool hand was on her face, wiping away the hot tears that stained the skin. "Hush, hush, it's gone now, it's gone."

Elsa slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the her savior. No she didn't trust him, but he helped her and comforted her. She shut her eyes again and sunk into his chest, trying to steal the warmth radiating from his body. Maybe...Maybe she could indulge in this delusion...Just for a little while.

**...**

**A/N: So did that last scene come from Elsa's head or did Nightmare create it? Also...Why is Nightmare wanting to bring this girl to Wonderland anyway? Also the Rape of the Sabine Women was an actual legend/fact of Roman history, go check it out.**


	4. Piece 4

**A/N Hello! Welcome everyone to our first filler chapter!**

**Guest: It's scizophrenia. Why she even has it was explained in the first chapter and will be better explained in a future one. **

**Hey guys! **_**Supersushicupcake **_**has a new story out! It's with her Oc Raven and another Oc who has yet to be introduced, go read it!**

**...**

**Third Person POV**

**...**

Nightmare stared blankly at King, the old man's face in a hopeful smile. "You want _me _to bring a foreigner for _you_."

The old man nodded. "I am the one who saved Alice!"

This was true, not long ago Alice had been kidnapped by a mafia, no one knew where to find her, even keeping her awake so that Nightmare would be unable to contact her in the Dream Realm. It was the King, that bumbling fool, who had found her in an old warehouse and freed her from the gang. No one had been appreciative of his act of bravery and requested one thing, a foreigner.

Alice was usually kept away from the King and as such he barely knew anything about the bright eyed foreigner. He also wanted to have someone care about his safety, admire the world with, and love. Such a request was a big risk on King's part, but it was something he greatly desired to the point that he dared ask it from the Caterpillar of Wonderland.

Said being, however, was by no means amused or happy with the request. It was Alice's game, she was the star and darling of Wonderland, why should he have to bring another girl into Wonderland for a pathetic excuse for a Role Holder? "Maybe you have forgotten, but asking me to do things of that nature would require you to be a bit higher on the food chain."

The King frowned. "I know that I am not powerful-"

"That's an understatement."

"But how would it feel if Alice was kept away from you or barely acknowledged your presence?" A soft smile lit his face. "Wouldn't you want someone else to have and to hold?"

"I'd just go visit Alice in her dreams."

"Not everyone has that get out of jail free card!"

"Pity."

"You both are really pathetic." A tired voice muttered.

Nightmare and the King snapped their heads in the direction of the voice. Soon a form made its way through the mist showing an average height person with messy, short, burnt brown hair. His eyes were a dark grey and had tired bags and circles under them, his face was also pale as if he hadn't slept in awhile.

"So what are you guys arguing over now?" He demanded.

"Well Dealer," King began. "I just wanted to bring in a new foreigner."

"During Alice's game?" He dead panned.

"Yes well-"

The dealer snapped his fingers and a bottle of tequila immediately formed in his hand. The man opened it up and took a swig, ignoring the burning that came with drinking it. "Please continue."

The King sighed and explained what he wanted to the Dealer while Nightmare just gave him a blank stare the entire time. When the explanation was over the Dealer tossed his empty bottle of tequila away and started on another. "And you really want to have the responsibility of taking care of a foreigner?"

The King nodded his head vigorously. "Of course!"

Nightmare sighed and glanced back at the Dealer. "Sir, what if this new girl interfere with Alice's game?"

"Eh," The Dealer stared sadly at his now empty bottle."good point...Well, you'll figure it out, if not we're screwed."

And with those the great and powerful words the Dealer faded away, more than likely to a bar so he could get another bottle of tequila.

Nightmare sighed and snapped his fingers, allowing the King to wake up so he could go find another foreigner.

**...**

The sound of Spanish soap operas reached Elsa's ears as she slowly got out of bed that early Saturday morning. Her eye brows furrowing in confusion she grabbed her taser from under her pillow and crept into the kitchen, glancing around with a quick heart beat.

When she finally made it to the kitchen she gasped. "Grammy what are you doing here!"

The thin woman glanced at her youngest granddaughter with piercing blue eyes. "I came to see my baby."

"But how did you get in!" She always had the doors and windows of every room locked when she left her apartment or went to bed.

"I picked the door open," She said. "a friend of mine back in the sixties taught me how to when we broke into our school in New York City." She gave a thoughtful look. "Of course we only did it to have teacher student sex on his desk..."

Elsa could only stare at her grandmother with a horrified expression. To be honest she should have expected it, she _did _look like the type that could have been a rebel during her prime. She had a thin, willowy body that at one point may have been called 'seductive', with her piercing blue eyes that were a shade darker than the sky in summer and set small in her wrinkly face they had a mischievous look to them. They contrasted heavily with her badly dyed blonde hair that was swept in an elegant bun and nice red dress that made her look like a shrewd rich woman from the forties.

"Well then..." She went over to the freezer. "would you like breakfast?"

Her grandmother wrinkled her nose. "You still eat freezer food?"

"I can't cook." That and she was afraid of burning the kitchen down.

Her grandmother rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

Grabbing two breakfast biscuits, Elsa threw them in the microwave and put them on for two minutes. She then went to her cabinet and took out two plates before putting ten fresh strawberries on each one. When she was finished she set the now 'cooked' sandwiches onto the plates, happily eating her share while she ignored her grandmother's chatter.

When breakfast was over and the dishes washed, Elsa excused herself to go get dressed. "When was the last time you took a proper shower?"

Elsa's face flushed a dark red. "I took one yesterday."

Her grandmother got off the bar-stool and grabbed a lock of hair, rubbing it in between her long finger. "That thing's as greasy as a pig," She pushed her granddaughter towards her room. "go take a good shower."

"W-what if something happens!"

"I'll stand outside the door," She pushed her into the tiny bathroom and shut the door. "just clean yourself up! How do you expect to get a man in your bed if you refuse to take a good shower?"

_Annoying woman needs to die already._ Elsa's eyes narrowed and she shook her head, that was not what she was going to tolerate! She loved her grandmother and would never wish for any harm to come to her, she was one of the few people in the world that didn't annoy her.

Jumping into the shower and cleaning herself down, she came back out half an hour later and true to her word, her grandmother stood outside the door. The old woman smiled and admired her granddaughter who was now dressed in a comfortable pair of pant sand shirt. "Now my baby is nice and clean, but you need to get sexy."

"Eh?!"

She gave a dark smile. "I'm taking you to a party and need you to look good for it. There'll be plenty of men and I want to introduce you."

That was probably the one thing she hated about her grandmother, she wanted her children and grandchildren to marry young. _But if you do you could quit your job. _She liked her job, and who would want to marry a schizophrenic twenty year old anyway? _A schizophrenic twenty year old male?_

Elsa blinked and had to agree with her voice, but was immediately attacked by her grandmother handing her a black dress. "Go ahead and wear this with those red heels in your closet and meet me out front."

She watched her grandmother prance out of the room before glancing at the dress. It wasn't that bad, something her grandmother had given her for Christmas last year. Sighing she laid the dress on the bed and turned to the slight disarray her bedroom had fallen into, maybe she could stall?

**...**

So even with cleaning up her bedroom and bathroom, Elsa was still dragged out to the party at Ms. Colderson's house. It was a large house, one of the ones that was owned by the rich people of the town. It was made in a 'Spanish' terracotta style and when you came into the driveway you saw a large fountain.

Getting out of the bright red station wagon, Elsa and her grandmother went up the steps and the door was opened by a maid. "Hello, the guests are in the garden."

The two nodded and went through the airy halls until they came to the backyard. Instead of seeing a bunch of women drinking tea and sitting at tables like Elsa imagined, all the woman were sitting around and drinking alcohol while watching a half naked man dance on top of a table in the middle of the yard.

"Elsa, Cathy!" A middle aged woman with bright eyes and pretty hair jogged over to them with a margarita in hand. "I'm so glad you could make it to my bachelorette party!"

Oh God. _Ditto. _"Thank you for inviting us." Cathy said, pulling on Elsa's arm. "We'll be sitting down for awhile, I want to enjoy looking at that guy's ass."

Elsa blushed and went to sit with her grandmother, staring at the ground with a dark face. She remained in that position until a waiter came by to ask for their order of food, when the woman looked up she was surprised to see Rick. His green eyes twinkled with amusement and something else she couldn't identify. "I didn't know you went to events like this Elsa."

"I-I-"

"She doesn't," Cathy said. "I made her."

Rick laughed, his eyes wandering over her black dress. "I'm glad you came, I've never seen you so casual."

_He's calling you a whore._ Elsa's face then turned fifty shades of red and she could have sworn the voice in her head was laughing. The dress wasn't that bad, it was shorter than she was used to and the dress was staples, but she wasn't a whore...Was she?

"Well, I guess you decided to wait until you got out of your high school gawky days," Rick said. "strange since you were a cheerleader the last year."

Elsa turned a darker shade of read. "O-only because Grammy told me to try out."

Rick nodded while whipping out a pen and paper. "Well, I still think you look good, but back to business..."

But Elsa had tuned him out as her mind processed his compliment, a warm feeling taking over her heart.

**...**

**A/N: So Elsa has a crush~. Ha, ha, ha! Anyway I loved this chapter which was filler, I know these don't have a lot of 'Wonderland' in it, but soon it was be more and more featured in the Dream Realm as Elsa begins to think Nightmare isn't a threat to her mind.**


	5. Piece 5

**A/N: Hi all!**

**Angel Protectress: Yeah it is! But don't forget the main pairing!**

**Craaazzy Geek: Thanks, here's your update. I love your name by the way. **

**...**

**Third Person POV**

**...**

It did not surprise Elsa when she appeared in the swirling dream world. Over the past week she had gotten used to the short, annoying, and quirky visits that Nightmare brought. Most times it was filled with him prying into her life, questioning her strange way of thinking while she mostly ignored him. Other times she found the world would change and he would see her reactions to it.

This time, however, she found him more irritated than usual. Smoothing out her night dress, Elsa got off the ground and hesitantly approached the glowering incubus. "Hello."

He glanced over to her and his mood seemed to lighten. "You spoke to me first!"

_A mistake on your part. _"You seem upset." She said, ignoring his comment.

"It's nothing, I just had a meeting is all."

A meeting? She had lived for nearly ten years with the voice in her head, but it had never said anything as bizarre as this delusion in front of her. Her mouth opened like a fish before quickly closing again, struggling to come up with something, anything to say.

_You could start by asking what the meeting was about. _No, she wasn't about to indulge in this like she did with the voice.

_Isn't it too late for that, he comes back like a lost puppy. _

"Hey!" Elsa nearly snapped her neck as she looked up at Nightmare. "I can hear you know, and I'm not like a lost puppy!"

_"Could have fooled me. _Elsa shook her head and sighed. "I don't know why you bother to listen to my thoughts...Even if you are a part of them."

The playful look died on his face and was replaced by a solemn stare. "Listening to thoughts comes natural to me, and it is difficult to simply stop. I actively listen to your thoughts because I find you interesting."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "My thoughts aren't interesting, they're confusing."

"How so?"

"Well...I have that voice in my head that amplifies or lies about what I feel."

Nightmare 'leaned' back on that air around him. "So that voice tells how you really feel?"

_Hell no! _"..."

"See, you are interesting." He came closer to her, grey eyes swirling with unspoken amusement. "You would fit in well in Wonderland."

Wonderland that name sounded familiar...She opened her mouth to voice this, but the world shattered as she began to awaken from the curious phenomena known as sleep.

**...**

That morning Elsa worked in a droning, slow way until mid afternoon when Rick came by. He had a smile on his rough face and a plastic bag filled with take out. "Hey, Elsa."

She blushed a dark red and began picking imaginary dust off her olive green dress. "Good afternoon, Rick. Did you come by to buy anything or just browsing through our selection?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You don't see the lunch I bought us?"

_Hell yes, but we didn't want her dying from such a thought. _"I-I'm sorry. I saw it, but thought it was for yourself." _Liar._

"Well it's not, so when do you get off?"

From the corner of her eye she could see her boss giggling like a school girl while 'rearranging' a painting she bought from France. "Now, I suppose, but only for lunch."

He grinned and pulled her along, barely giving her time to say anything to her boss. They quickly made it out into the warm afternoon sunlight and the young man led her to an old wooden bench that was near a convenience store. He then pulled the food stuff out of the bags which consisted of some beef sandwiches, grape soda, and girl scout cookies.

Handing her one of each Rick leaned back and said. "So how have you been lately? I've noticed you looked gloomy coming back from your appointment yesterday."

She blushed a dark red. "I'm fine, just depressed."

"That doesn't sound like you're fine."

"I guess."

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" He took a sip of his flat soda. "We've been friends for a long time and I'd hate to see you in a bad shape."

The words sent a warm feeling through her heart. It was a nice thing for him to say, though it was true that they were friends and as such they had to look out for each other. Now tha she was thinking about it, he always look out for her. Ever since they were children he would make sure that she didn't get hurt or would make the bullies go away. He even did his best to shield Elsa from her own parents.

Now thinking about such treatment she felt as if she hadn't done enough for him. She had been busy going through a psychotic episode when his parents got divorced. She had also been to wrapped up in sibling rivalry when his Grandfather died. And to top it all off she had gone through addiction just so she could try to forget everything and fit in with the 'normal people', pushing him to the side during that final year of high school.

She was by no means a good friend, far from it. _For once we agree on something._

"Hey, Rick."

"Yeah?"

She placed her food on her lap. "Do you still want to leave the Island?"

He raised an eyebrow. "And what made you ask that?"

"It's just..." She nibbled on her bottom lip. "I want you to be happy."

He stared at her for several moments before a wry smile lit up his face. "Elsa, Elsa, Elsa, you worry too much." He leaned her small head on his broad shoulder. "I'm gonna leave the island when I'm good and ready. Right now they still need my help over in the garage, when they give me my promotion I'll have money to start saving up for a plane ticket and enough experience for a good job."

"You have wild dreams."

"Of course, what's your dream Elsa? What is it you desperately want?"

What was it she wanted? Well she wouldn't mind getting off the island...But she also did grow up here and loved it dearly, but she also hated her parents and their constant reminders..._Don't forget about your sister!_

The very thought made her blood boil. "Normal."

"Huh?"

"I want to be normal."

Rick laughed and shook his head. "Don't we all?"

Before she could question what he was saying a high pitched beeping from Elsa's purse reminded her that it was time to return to work. Apologizing profusely, she hurried up and returned to her job, her face and heart warm.

**...**

That evening Elsa returned to the ever twisting dream world. There she found Nightmare smoking on his pipe and watching her with his every mysterious smile. Deciding to ignore him she wandered through the mist, watching it twist around her body until it dispersed again.

She wasn't trying to get anywhere, there didn't seem to be anywhere outside of this place, she just wanted to relax and think. Most of her thoughts had to do with the future and if she ever left her home. Such a thought wasn't foreign, but she only wanted to leave if Rick did, she cared for him too much.

_Sounds to me like he has you wrapped around his finger. _

That wasn't true, she cared about Rick and wanted only the best for him, especially after all the hell she had put him through. She wanted him to achieve his dreams and get a chance at a bright future.

"Sounds to me like he's lucky to have someone who cares so much." Nightmare mused.

Elsa looked up at him with a frown. "I owe him a lot, the least I can do is hope for his future."

"What about your own?

_What about it? _"...I don't know..."

He bent down somewhat and smoothed some of the hair out of her face. "Everyone has a future, even you can have a good one if you accept it."

"Accept it?" She shuddered as his hand drifted to her cheek.

"Just forget the bad," He murmured. "just forget..."

**...**

**A/N: And we begin to progress into the plot. **


End file.
